Mother Walrus And Her Calf

Photo WikimediaWe watched a documentary about walruses yesterday and I wanted to learn more about these animals. I looked for videos and found this that is a part of the film I've seen. I was touched how this mother huges her cub. She was very patient with photograph too and became nervous only when he came practically close to them. And they say that walruses are extremely impatient!

So, what I learned about them.
First of all there are 2 (maybe 3) types of walruses. Atlantic (Odobenus rosmarus) and Pacific (Odobenus rosmarus divergens). Those atlantics have more fine tusks. Odobenus means "tooth-walking sea-horse" because walruses help themselves to go out of the water with tusks sometimes.
Did you know, that they can "walk" better as some seals?
And did you know that they are NOT seals? Only relatives.

In the middle of the 20-th century they were practically extinct because of hunting. Different sources tell it different, but I understood, that the number of these animals is growing today.

Now, some numbers.
Walruses are about 4, rarely till 5 meters long. They say, they were longer earlier, till 6-7 m.
Their weight is about 1000 kg (earlier it was till 1500 kg)
Tusks arrive till 80 cm and grow always.
Their skin is 4 cm large and the fat arrives till 10 cm.
They can make 24 km/h and emerge till 80 m -so they don't sweem more far than 90 m from the earth.
Walruses live till 40 years
they born 1,5 m long and have 45- 65 kg, sometimes there are 2 calves.

Interesting is that...
Very great (maybe greatest) problemof the life for walruses are all sorts of internal and external parasits.
They like to take the sun and become red when feel hot.

Photo National Geographic

Walruses have hairs. More the animal is old less hairs it has and the eldest are completely nacked.
There are cases when walrusses assailed narwhals, belugas and seals.